With This Ring
by Lsquared2
Summary: Prequel to Past Meets Present
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note-

Sorry it has taken so long to post an update. After a long time of really struggling to write the next chapter and contemplating scratching it all together the decision was made to restart the story from another point in it. Instead of two weeks before Soda and Jillian's wedding it will be picking up the week of Pony's Graduate School graduation. No worries though Soda and Jill's wedding will be done in it's entirety in a future chapter. Hope you enjoy it! As always S.E. Hinton owns "The Outsiders" and all the characters in it. Happy reading!

~Pony~

When the week of my graduation finally rolled around it was like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. After grinding through my thesis for almost two months, I came to the conclusion there was no way I could jump right into getting my PhD without completely burning myself out. Surprisingly, both Kate and Darry had been nothing but supportive agreeing that taking a year or two off was probably the best decision. The icing on the cake was that my job offer finally became official so I had been able to tell everyone and could finally stop worrying that Mr. McKinley would change his mind at the last minute.

When he found out that Ryann and I were dating he had been less than thrilled but after the mess with Wes and his family lying about the fact they were flat broke, he's mostly kept his mouth shut. We'd come to a basic understanding we don't discuss Ry at all and we keep our relationship purely professional. It's not a secret that he'll never be supportive of us being together even though the rest of her family is. I'm still shocked the man didn't have a heart attack or a stroke when Ry and I told him we were moving in together. My lease was up in May and Ry had been on lock-down at her parents' house after Wes had made some veiled threats when Mr. McKinley had forbidden him to have any contact with her. So when Mickey told us over lunch one day that he knew someone that had a three bedroom, two and a half bath brownstone he had only used for business and now that he was retired was looking to rent it at an extremely affordable price, it was too good to pass up. We moved in after I completed my thesis.

The first couple of weeks had definitely had their ups and downs with me being a slob and Ry being a neat freak but we worked the kinks out, and things settled down and became unusually natural. Now I can't imagine living without her and sometimes I wonder how I did for such a long time.

Sean, who I was expecting to come over, knocked once then let himself in the side door. "Hey." He greeted and then wasted no time getting to the point. "You are never going to guess who is back in town this week and is wanting to see you." He flops down on the couch.

"No idea. Who?"

Sean chuckles. "Crazy Claire."

Claire Walters had been the only actual relationship I had been in before Ry. We dated pretty seriously our senior year and for a point in time I thought I could settle down with her. In a lot of ways Claire was ideal; smart, attractive, driven, goal oriented. But she had only one agenda – her own. Not even two weeks after graduation she took off for Medical School somewhere on the West Coast without so much as a second thought. She claimed that if I were serious enough about her I'd follow and when that didn't happen she dropped off the grid.

"I bet Kate would love to see her again." Sean adds, snickering.

Claire had blown any chance of being friends with Kate after spending a total of five minutes with her and Darry when they came to Boston; claiming she had her 'own things to do'. Thus Kate, who had always wanted me to have a steady girlfriend, informed me that Claire was not the one.

"Bailey told you that?" I question as I went into the freshly painted kitchen grabbing two beers from the fridge. Bailey had been Claire's roommate. I handed one to Sean and sat back down.

"Yeah, I ran into her yesterday. Claire is staying with her." he explains. "You aren't going to go out of your way to see her are you?" He asks raising his eyebrows at me.

"Hell, no!" I reply.

"Good." Sean says. "Claire isn't worth getting your ass kicked by Luke and Mickey for upsetting Ry." Despite Sean being a few years older he grew up with Ryann and knows that family as well as anyone else and it's no secret how protective of Ry everyone is.

"No kidding." We sit around and bullshit for a while until Sean had to leave for some blind date his mom set him with.

It's barely five minutes after Sean left, Ry came through the front door. "Hey baby. How was your afternoon with Lexy?"

Ry nodded as she sat down next to me leaning over kissing me gently. "It was good." She gave me a coy smile. "And I got your graduation gift."

"Ry I said no gifts." I started and she silenced me by holding up her hand.

"I know but it's your graduation. Sean got you something so did his parents and my mom." It's so hard to be mad or annoyed with her when she looks at me with those big blue eyes. "You worked hard and you deserve it."

"I hope it involves just the two of us, a bottle of champagne and a long hot bath." I stated and she gave me a sly smile.

"That's definitely part of it." She ran her fingers through my hair, moving closer until our lips met.

"Speaking of graduation. Dr. Jones called I guess I'm this year's valedictorian."

"That's awesome! I'm so proud of you." Ry paused a second. "I think you deserve part of your gift early. You get the champagne and I'll meet you upstairs?" She says standing up, I nod as I pull her into my lap for a kiss. Thirty seconds later the phone rang and the urge to throw it into traffic was almost overwhelming.

"That's Jill. I forgot I told her to call me at 8." Ryann murmurs kissing me again before going to answer it. "Hello?"

~Jillian~

"Hey, it's Jill." I greeted as I puttered around the kitchen, preparing supper. "How are you?"

"Hi. I'm great! How are you?"

"Other than running around like a headless chicken, I'm doing ok." I replied with a chuckle." Thank you so much for the birthday card and gift." Ryann and I have become quite close since she attended our wedding back in October. We just hit it off – ditto for Kate.

"You are very welcome."

"Your aunt is a talented woman. I love it."

"Good. Glad to hear it." Ryann paused for a moment. "Busy day at the ranch?"

"Always." I told her. "How were your exams?"

"Not too bad. Just waiting for the results."

"The waiting is harder to tough out than the exams themselves."

"Tell me about it."

"Oh come on, you're smart. I'm sure you passed with flying colors."

"At least Pony knows he's graduating and he has a job to go to for the next year or so."

"That is so awesome. Soda loves to brag that he has a brother who is a Harvard graduate – twice and will be teaching there too. We're all proud of him, both of you actually."

"Aww. Thanks." Ryann replied. "Well, I have another piece of news that will make you both even _more_ proud and something else for Soda to brag about."

"Oh? What's that?"

"Pony just found out that he's going to be valedictorian of his class."

"Seriously? That's awesome, Ry! Is he there?"

"He's on the couch, working on his speech."

"Tell him congrats from us."

"Jill says congratulations from her and Soda."

"Thank you!" Pony called out.

"Oh! The grad party will be at my parents' house instead of our place. Apparently, we'll need the extra room."

"Alright. I'm really excited to see you guys again and to see Boston."

"We're looking forward to it, too."

Ryann and I continued our talk for a little while. "I should let you go so you can finish getting dinner ready."

"OK." I replied. The phone tucked between my shoulder and ear while I peeled carrots – something I learned to do from my mom at an early age. No wonder she has a bad neck.

"Say hi to Soda for us."

"Will do. Listen, you two take it easy and enjoy each others company this week. Just the two of you."

"You know we will."

"..and don't go through a lot of trouble for us. Soda and I are low maintenance."

"OK. Thanks for calling. We'll see you on Thursday."

"See you then. Love you guys!"

"Love you too." Ryann returned before we hung up.

I woke when something touch my lips. "Mmm Prince Charming. Welcome home."

Soda grinned. "Sorry I'm so late." He kneeled on the floor next to the couch.

"That's ok. What time is it?"

"Almost 9."

"Are you hungry? I'll put something together for you."

"Nah, I'm fine. Thanks." He stroked my hair. "How was your day?"

"It was ok. Everything went alright for you guys?"

"Yep. We won't be out late tomorrow."

"Good. I called Ryann, she and Pony say hi."

Soda nodded. "Ok."

"Pony was told today that he's going to be Valedictorian."

"That's great."

"Impressive, isn't it? Things are really going well for him and Ryann."

"Good. I'm happy for them." Soda grinned. I thought he'd be a little more enthusiastic but he seemed preoccupied.

"Are you ok?" I asked placing my hand on his face.

"Yeah, I've just been thinking about you all day. Missed you." He replied then kissed my palm.

"I missed you too."

"Want to take a shower with me?" He asked, leaning in to kiss my neck giving me a pleasant chill."You like that?" He whispered.

"Mmmmm." Soda pulled away, stood up and then pulled me up with him and led me to our bathroom.

~Soda~

Jilly woke from her nap when the flight attendant advised everyone to buckle up. Once the plane had cleared the clouds, the captain's voice came over the intercom to announce our approach into Boston. He pointed out some landmarks, to look for, one of which was Fenway Park. Being a Red Sox fan since I was a kid, Dad promised he'd take me there someday. Mom would get so mad at him for making empty promises like that because he knew we couldn't afford it. Maybe it was as much a dream to him as it was to me but sadly he died before he could ever make it come true. We touched down about twenty minutes later. Jilly and I walked hand in hand through the tunnel to the gate to find Pony, Kate and Darry waiting nearby to greet us. "Hey guys!" I called out. Hugs all around.

"Where's Ryann?" Jilly asked.

"She's at the house. She wanted to get some last minute things done before y'all get there."

We collected our luggage and headed for the car. The girls, as always, packed more than what they needed; at least from a guy's point of view. We just shook our head and grinned. Pony gave us a tour of the city and a quick drive by the Harvard campus on the way to the house. "We'll give you guys a tour inside tomorrow. "

Ryann was already outside when we pulled up. "Hey guys! Welcome." She greeted with a big smile and hugged us each in turn. Whether or not Ryann knows it, she's already become part of the family. Ever since they came to our wedding back in October we all got the sense that she was the one for Pony."Come on in."

"Go on in, girls. We'll get the bags." Darry said. Ryann gave us the grand tour of the house and I have to say we were all quite impressed.

"It's gorgeous, Ry." Kate exclaimed.

"Thanks. We really lucked out on this place. It's close to everything and in a nice neighborhood."

We talked through dinner about the city, college, the grad ceremony and whatever other topic we could come up with.

"That was delicious, Ryann." Jilly stated. "You have culinary talents." We all agreed.

"Thank you."

"Don't you dare lift a finger to clean up. Jilly and I will look after that." Kate declared.

"You don't have to do that, you're the guests."

"We insist." Jilly stated. "You just relax." Ryann gave in and let them clear the table. I glanced over at Pony who had been preoccupied during dinner. He excused himself from the table. I waited for a moment and then excused myself to follow him outside to the front stoop. He was just lighting up a smoke.

"I thought you quit those things?" I asked, sitting next to him.

"I tried. Lately it's the only thing calming my nerves."

"Is everything ok with you and Ryann?"

He shrugged. "Oh yeah, we're fine. It's just that we're both been so busy with studying and writing exams at odd hours, we've been like ships passing in the night." Pony stated, taking a long drag off the cigarette. "I'm thinking about my speech tomorrow. I hope it makes sense." He stated as he blew the smoke out. Reminded me of Dallas Winston.

"A couple of days isn't much time to prepare. Are you nervous about speaking in front of people?"

"No. Hell, I do that all the time, it doesn't bother me." Pony chuckled and shook his head. "Oh, man the first time I had to do that I puked...but not in front of anyone, thankfully."

I laughed. "You're a hell of a lot braver than I am. I hate being in front of people like that."

"Yeah, I remember how pale you looked at your wedding." Pony's grin melted away quickly and he took another drag of his cigarette.

"Something else is bothering you."

"Damn, Soda, I can't get anything past you, can I?"

"Nope. Spill it, baby brother."

"How hard was it to ask for Jillian's parents' blessing to marry her?"

The question took me totally off guard. "Uh, well not as hard as I thought it would be. I was nervous as hell but, they were all for it." I paused for a moment. "You're gonna propo…"

"Shhh! Not so loud."

"Sorry." I lowered my voice to a whisper. "You're gonna propose to Ryann?"

"Eventually, yeah. Just not sure when." Pony replied. "Would you believe I'm more stressed about asking her parents for their blessing than I am about my speech?"

"Well, that's normal." I couldn't have been happier for Pony. Since he brought Ryann to Canada to meet the family, we all noticed a big change in him. He's grown up so much and has left the philandering frat boy behind.

"Maddie; Ry's mom will be easy to ask. She's great. It's her father I'm worried about." Pony admitted.

"You know what? Even if he doesn't like the idea, as long as you keep her happy and take care of her, that's what matters in the long run." I told him. Hoping that was enough.

"Maybe." Pony sighed heavily. "I don't know how I fell so hard for her. Especially after Claire and her ultimatum. She didn't even give a second thought about leaving."

"Claire was a self-centered…imbecile." I stated abruptly for lack of a harsher word. I had never met the woman but it's the impression I got from Kate, who absolutely despises her. "Her loss is your gain."

Pony shrugged and butted out his cigarette. "I guess you're right."

"Ryann knows what she's got, she won't take you for granted." I added.

"Kate and Jillian seem to like her." One has to pass the Kate test to be accepted. As for Jillian, it's likely the sister bond that she never had growing up.

"Do you have the ring?"

"Yeah, well…I don't have it _on_ me but I have it hidden." Pony flashed a sly grin. "It's not your typical engagement ring, though."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, it's an oval, peach-colored sapphire with a diamond halo and band."

"Wow. Peach. Not something you'd see every day."

"Nope. Ry spotted it when we were browsing some antique shop awhile back—she tried it on for fun and it fit her perfectly and it looked good on her. I know she wanted it but Ry's not one to beg and she never said another word about it. I went by the place the other day and oddly enough the ring was still there, so I got it. The store owner actually remembered us."

"It was meant to be, Pone."

"I guess so."

"Antique shop, huh…?" I repeated with a grin, playfully punching his arm. Pony never struck me as the antiquing kind of guy. "Peach…"

"Shut up." Pony laughed. "Soda, promise me you won't say anything to Darry or the girls, please I just want to wait until the time is right."

"You got it." I hate keeping secrets but since this meant so much to Pony I had to respect his wish.

~Luke~

Two hours is all it took before I wanted to bang my head against the wall or catch the first flight back to Annapolis. Which is pretty much the norm whenever my parents are together which thankfully isn't very often. After I've had enough I take the first opportunity to bail and walk the four or five blocks over to Ry's house reminding myself to give her hell for moving out and leaving me to deal with Dad alone. Halfway there I realize that I probably should have called first since Mom had mentioned they had company.

I turned the corner and slowed to a stop, surprised there are people sitting on the front steps. Pony looked up, "Hey." He says standing up. "Thought you weren't back till next week?" He asked.

"Exam schedule got changed. I flew into JFK this morning and Sophie drove me up." I explain.

"That's cool. Luke, this is my brother, Soda. Soda, this is Ry's brother Luke."

He stood up to shake my hand. "Hi. It's good to meet you."

"Likewise." I reply.

"You want to stay and hang out for a while?" Pony asks holding the front door open.

"Sure. If I'm not imposing, that is."

"No, not at all. Us guys are just gonna hang out in my 'cave'." That's what I like about this guy. He's never too busy for friends. "Hey sweetheart, there's someone here to see you." Pony calls down the hall.

"Hey, big brother!" She exclaims giving me a tight hug. "Mom didn't say anything about you being home when I talked to her."

"Just got in a few hours ago." I tell her. "By the way, thanks for leaving me alone in the nut house. I owe you one."

Ryann rolled her eyes at me. "Your gone nine months out of the year I think you can survive three." She retorted.

Pony chuckled, sliding his arm around her. I'm still surprised at how Ry was able to so naturally get into a serious relationship that is obviously headed to the two of them getting married. Neither of us had the greatest example of how a normal functioning marriage works while most people in that situation, myself included, would swear off marriage. Ry took it as a life lesson, making sure that when she finally did get married she could rest easy knowing it wouldn't be like our parents. Being an eternal optimist is one of Ry's better traits.

"Ask me that again in August." I told her.

"Dad's on the rampage about everything and anything? Shocking." Ryann stated as we headed down the hall into the kitchen where me to Pony's older brother and sisters-in-law. Two very charming and lovely ladies. Darry seems like a cool guy. "What are you boys going to do for the evening?" Ry inquired.

"We'll just hang out here. Sean's coming over." Pony told her. "I take it you ladies have plans."

"We do now. Mom just called and invited us girls over for wine tasting."

"Oh boy!" I knew what that meant. "Grandma Sophie and Aunt Maggie are there, plan on tasting a LOT of wine."

"That's ok. We've got plenty of beer to taste." Pony declared.

"Well you boys have a good time." Ry said. After the women kissed their significant others and headed out the door, us guys headed downstairs to the man cave to shoot pool, drink beer and watch sports. Sean arrived about 20 minutes later.

~Ry~

Luke hadn't been joking when he said we'd be tasting a lot of wine especially with grandma and Aunt Maggie. Mom is always looking for new hobbies so the fact she brought in a wine pro to lead the tasting doesn't surprise me.

"…and this one was aged in a cherry barrel giving it a pungent taste."

I glance at Aunt Maggie who is seated to my left who is chasing her wine with scotch and grandma who is to my right who long ago stopped spitting her wine.

"Wow, that tastes like shit." Sophie announced. The 'pro' who is an older lady made a sour expression at all of us thus making it pretty clear she'd rather be anywhere else. Kate stifled a giggle from Aunt Maggie's other side.

"I think we can handle this from here." Mom told her. "Thank you so much for your time." The lady appeared relieved as she gathered her stuff and made a beeline for the door.

"Someone needs to tell her to get the stick out of her ass." Grandma declares pouring herself another glass of wine. Sophie hopped off one of the bar stools that lined the kitchen counter.

"Alright Mads, where do you keep the good stuff?" she asks rummaging around through the cabinets pulling out at least five bottles of various kinds of alcohol.

"Level me off." Aunt Maggie ordered, holding her still full glass out to Sophie who obliges pouring more scotch into the glass. Sophie pours way more than a shot of vodka in a glass and slides it in my direction.

"Drink up Ryann Charlotte."

I shook my head. "I can't. I'm supposed to fill in for dad tomorrow." Sophie slid Jill her glass of Jack Daniels then looked at me. "A few drinks aren't going to kill you." Against my own good judgment I downed the shot setting my glass back on the counter and Sophie immediately refills it.

"How you liking the closet?" Sophie asked. Refilling Kate's shot glass with tequila.

"I love it." As a housewarming gift Sophie had insisted on redoing most of the house any excuse for her to design and decorate.

"You two have sex in there yet?" Sophie questions raising her eyebrows at me.

"Not even close." I reply.

"Your closet is big enough for sex?" Jills asked.

"I suppose if I wanted to but it's not happening."

"Javier and I do it everywhere." Aunt Maggie interjects.

"Jesus Maggie no one wants to hear about your non-English speaking pool boy." Grandma tells her.

"Cabana boy." Aunt Maggie corrects. "Besides, all he needs to say is 'Si, Miss Maggie'."

"How old is this one?" Sophie asks pouring everyone another drink. Jilly and Kate were hanging on Maggie's words.

Aunt Maggie thinks a minute. "Twenty eight and he is precious, just precious I just want to eat him up."

"Whoa, I have not drank enough to make this conversation ok." Sophie declares. "Bottoms up, ladies." Two hours later I am almost certain we are all going to regret this in the morning.

Uncle Mickey arrived and joined us in the kitchen. "Evening ladies. Whoa. Looks like I missed quite the party." He stated, scanning the counter that was littered with empty bottles. "I take it my brother isn't around?"

Mom shakes her head. "No. Why would he want to spend any time with his family." I know mom must be drunk she has always made a point not to speak ill of dad especially in front of Luke and me. Sophie noticed and gave me a sideways glance.

Uncle Mickey shrugged. "I haven't the slightest." he paused a moment. "And who are these two lovely ladies?" I can see both Kate and Jill practically swooning, Uncle Mickey does have a way with the ladies he has a string of lovesick women chasing him all over Boston.

"Kate, Jill this is my Uncle Mickey. Uncle Mickey, Kate and Jill." I introduced as I stepped carefully off my stool, being careful not to fall on my face.

"Oh, right the sisters-in-law, it's pleasure to finally meet you both." In turn, he grasped their hand between his. "Ryann speaks of you both, often." He told them with his charming smile, rendering them practically speechless.

"Pleasure to meet you too, Mickey." Jills and Kate returned.

"No need for formalities, call me Uncle Mickey."

I shook my head then glanced at my watch. "I guess we should probably head home." I suggested, though I have no idea how that is going to work since Kate can hardly stand up at this point and Jill doesn't look very sober herself.

Uncle Mickey shakes his head. "I'll take you girls home, I don't want you staggering across the campus. It's not safe. What would your father think?"

Sophie snorts. "Who gives a flying crap what that asshole thinks." She frowned when she noticed her bottle was empty, she leans over giving me a hug, "You should break in that closet tonight."

"Not going to happen." I returned. After everyone has hugged all three of us goodbye and bid each other goodnight. Uncle Mickey helped us all into the car, warning us not to throw up or else. He managed to get all us up the front steps and waited for me to dig my keys out of my pocket. After I've dropped them a few times he took them from me and opened the door himself and led us all to the living room. The guys had moved up from the basement and to my surprise, they appeared relatively sober; well, compared to us that is.

"Gentlemen, I believe these belong to a few of you." Soda and Darry claimed their wives and I introduced them to Uncle Mickey.

"How much wine did you three drink?" Darry asked looking at us like he expected one of us to throw up at any moment. Which wouldn't be that shocking since Kate is looking a bit green.

"It wasn't so much the wine as it was the vodka, tequila and whiskey." I explained as the three of us fall onto whatever piece of furniture is the nearest.

"The wine was pungent." Jills declared trying her hardest not to slur. "It smelled like sweaty socks."

"Yeah and it tasted like shit." Kate added and the three of us bust out laughing. The guys all look at each other.

"Good luck with them, boys." Uncle Mickey said with a smirk. Luke and Sean both stand up. "You two leaving? I'll give you a ride home." He looks back at me. "Peanut, you'd better sober up before tomorrow wouldn't want to tarnish the image filling in for your dad drunk."

"God forbid." Luke muttered then wished all a good night and went out to the car. Sean wished Pony good luck, bid everyone a good night and went out the door.

"I should get to bed." Kate nods in agreement.

"Me two."

"Me three." Jills adds. The three of us slowly made our way up the stairs and into our respective bedrooms, assisted by our significant other.

I threw all my clothes on the floor and climbed into bed shutting my eyes hoping the spinning would stop.

"Damn Ry you must be drunk." Pony says as he picks up my clothes dumping them in the hamper in the bathroom.

"Shut up." I mumble rolling over. He goes in the bathroom then comes out turns out the light and gets into bed.

"I didn't know you were filling in for your dad tomorrow?" He says quietly.

"Noah called me this afternoon. They scheduled three graduations for the same time you must not have enough good looking girls graduating with you to warrant my dad going." I grumble into my pillow.

"I'd rather have you there than him anyways." Pony whispers into my ear as he pulls me closer to him. "Goodnight baby."


	2. Chapter 2

~Ryann~

The alarm clock barely had a chance to ring before I hit the snooze button. Ten minutes later I repeated same, and was about to slap it a third time when Pony grabbed my arm.

"Ry, at some point you are going to have to get up." I turn the alarm off all together and roll over on my side.

"I know. I just don't want to." I stated, well aware of the fact I'm whining. "I don't even know why I bother. It's not like anything I do will ever be good enough for Dad or Noah." Noah is the head of my Dad's personal staff and the one and only reason he got the job was because of the fact that he was friends with Wes. After Dad cut off all contact with Wes and his family, Noah had sworn up and down that he was no longer friends with him. My bet is he's lying his ass off; he's such sleaze.

"So next time you get asked say no." Pony tells me. I give him a look,

"It's not that easy, Dad thinks it's my sworn duty because I had the good fortune to be his kid. As if that man ever gave a crap that I am his kid or appreciates the fact I've bailed his dead-beat ass out countless times when he just didn't feel like going to something." I spit out. Now I'm just angry. I get out of bed and fling open the closet door digging through it trying to find something to wear. Pony is just sitting in the bed with an amused look on his face that pisses me off even more."I'm glad you find this so freaking amusing." I say slamming the closet door shut, hard. It's pretty obvious he's trying not to laugh at me.

"You're just so cute when you're angry." I grabbed a pillow from the window seat and threw it at him.

"I'm going to take a shower." I say stalking into the bathroom.

"Want some company?" He asks.

"No!" I scream slamming the door behind me and locking it for good measure. I turn on the water, strip my pajamas off then step in under the hot water trying to calm myself down. My father is the only one that is able to make me so unbelievably angry that I could strangle someone. I do what I need to do in the shower before getting out and doing my hair and makeup and then slip into my dress quickly realizing that I am not going to be able to zip myself.

Pony looks up from whatever he's watching on TV when I walk back into the bedroom. "Could you zip me, please?" I ask turning around in front of him. He slowly and carefully zips up my dress before pulling me down on the bed with him. Before I could object or pull away, he pressed his lips against mine for one of those long slow kisses that make me melt.

"Ry, your dad and Noah aren't worth getting that upset over." Pony says after he pulls away.

"I know. It just makes me angry."

"You're still the better person for doing it, albeit under duress." He tucked my hair behind my ear and gazed into my eyes. "You know what you need?"

"No, what?" I ask.

"A long weekend away from Boston. Just the two of us."

I shut my eyes trying not to moan as his lips find my ear. "Long weekend to where?"

"Wherever you want. You think about it and let me know. We can go before you start summer classes." I groan at the mere thought.

"It's only two classes, Ry. We'll have plenty of time to spend together." Pony replies sometimes I swear he can read my mind.

"Thank you." Pony looks at me confused.

"For what, baby?"

"For always knowing the right thing to say and for letting me be me. When I'm with you I always feel like I can just be me."

"Ry there is no one else I'd want you to be." Pony says he glances at the clock. "You should probably get going wouldn't want you to be late Miss. McKinley." he added with a smirk then stood up holding his hand out to help me up. I smoothed my dress and hair before stepping into my shoes. "How do I look?"

"Beautiful…as always."

"I'm not over-dressed, hair is ok?" I purposely wore the dress he liked best on me and styled my hair in loose curls the way he liked as well. A subtle and personal graduation gift to him that he can unwrap later in private.

"You look perfect, Ry." He kissed my forehead. "You know after I graduate you won't be Miss McKinley anymore." Pony points out as he pulls a t-shirt over his head. "Not to me, at least."This had been one of Dad's stipulations we would keep our relationship quiet until Pony was officially graduated; this way no one could say our relationship got him the job. Personally, I think Dad did it in the hope it would cause a fight and we'd break up.

"Technically, I'll be Miss McKinley until I get married." I tell him. He wrapped his arm around my waist as we made our way downstairs.

"I could start calling you Mrs. Curtis if you want." he suggested.

I turn from the kitchen counter where I'm gathering my stuff. "I only marry doctors. Sorry Professor, you're out."

Pony takes my arm pulling me into his. "That is all the more reason for me to get my PhD." he murmurs lifting me up so he can kiss me. We both look up as the backdoor swings open.

"Good morning. We aren't interrupting anything are we?" Uncle Mickey greets cheerfully as he and mom enter the kitchen loaded with bags. "We come bearing food. Hope you're all hungry."

"No. I was actually just leaving." I tell them. "You two moving in or something?"

"Nah, I figured I owed you all breakfast after getting everyone drunk last night." Mom rummaged through one of the bags. "Rosa made this special for you, honey." She says handing me what I know is a bagel, with cream cheese, lox and tomatoes.

"Thanks, Mom." I finished getting my stuff together. "Hey Pony can you do me a favor?"

He looks up at me from the mound of pancakes Mom sat in front of him. "Anything."

"I washed a huge load of towels yesterday and I didn't get a chance to fold them can you do it for me?"

He nodded. "Sure." Uncle Mickey chuckled but doesn't say anything.

Luke pulled into the driveway and honked the horn whereupon Pony's stood and leaned in for a quick goodbye kiss letting his lips linger by my ear. "I love you." He whispered.

"I love you too." I replied. "I'll see you guys later." Mom and Uncle Mickey both hugged me goodbye as Luke blared his horn again.

~Pony~

As soon as Ryann is out the door Mickey turned towards me, "I see Ryann has you wrapped around her finger. Welcome to the club." He added, smacking me on the back. "Just wait until you get married." he adds.

Maddie sat down next to me. "Mickey, leave him alone. Maybe they aren't ready to get married yet."

I took a deep breath. "Actually..." I began, causing them both to spring to attention and stare at me. "I uh, I uh..." I stammer wondering why all of a sudden I'm sweating.

"Yes?" Maddie says gently.

"I love Ryann." They both nod. "A lot. And…I uh…want to ask her to marry me; with your permission of course." Even though traditionally I should be talking to her parents and not her uncle, I know Ry considers Mickey more of a father and you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who loves her as a daughter as much as Mickey does. He's told me on more than one occasion he considers her his little girl.

"Of course." Mickey says immediately. "Absolutely. You have my blessing."

I look at Maddie who has tears in her eyes. "I can't think of anyone else I'd approve to marry Ryann than you." She replies after a few seconds. It's like a huge weight has been lifted.

And then reality hits me again. "I want to talk to Mr. McKinley but I'm not sure how and truthfully it kinda terrifies me."

"Don't ask him just tell him." Mickey says firmly. "Don't give that blow hole a chance to object." Maddie nodded in agreement. "Deep down he wants what's best for Ryann, he just has a…unique way of showing it."

"Thanks."

"So when are you going to pop the question?" Mickey asked.

"Sooner rather than later. I think we're going to try and get away for a long weekend before she starts school, so maybe then." Truthfully I'm not sure I can wait that long the more I think about it the more I don't want to wait.

"Anything we can do to help don't hesitate to ask." Mickey told me, " Anything at all. I have a cabin up in Maine that you two are more than welcome to use."

"Or the Cape Cod house." Maddie added.

I smiled to myself remembering the last time Ryann and I spent a weekend at the Cape. "I'm sure my parents would let you use the house in East Hampton, if you prefer that."

"I'll definitely keep all those in mind.I'm leaving it up to Ry to choose where we go." I informed them. The three of us talked for a  
while longer until Jillian entered the kitchen.

"Good morning." I greeted. Followed by Maddie and Uncle Mickey's greeting.

~Jillian~

I was still in my pajamas when I went downstairs, not realizing that Ry's mom and uncle had dropped by. Glad I tied my hair back into a pony tail, it would have been a fright.

"Good morning." I returned.

"How're you feeling?" Maddie asked. I like her a lot, she's young and hip. Sophie is fun too.

"OK but I have a major headache."

"Need some Aspirin?" Pony asked.

"Yes, please." I begged and he promptly passed me the bottle and a glass of water.

Uncle Mickey stood up and offered his seat then sat across from Pony. "Oh, thank you." I somewhat remember meeting him briefly the night before. He seems like a nice man, handsome, sharp dresser, charming.

"We brought some breakfast if you're up for it." Maddie informed me. "Pancakes with syrup and some freshly brewed coffee. Courtesy of Rosa."

"Smells and looks delicious." I replied. Oddly enough, I didn't feel sick so I could eat. "Just throw the coffee in my eyes it'll work faster."

Maddie grinned. "I've had mornings like that, sweetie. Enjoy."

"I will, thank you."

"My compliments to Rosa." I told them.

"I'll pass that on to her."

"Maddie, we should get going so everyone can get ready." Mickey informed her. "Big day ahead."

She glanced at her watch "Oh! Yeah, time sure flies." She picked up her purse, they wished Pony good luck.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome We'll see you at the ceremony."

"Bye." Pony and I said it unison.

Maddie and Uncle Mickey left and Pony got right into folding some towels which struck me as interesting. Soda will do laundry but I get him to leave the folding to me.

I watched Pony tend to his chore while I ate. "You know there's good money in running a laundromat. You'd be a wiz at fluff and fold. " I teased him.

Pony laughed. "Damn after all these years at Harvard, I could have been making big bucks in the laundry business?"

"You'll both be successful in your careers." After a brief pause I continued. "You must be excited about getting your Master's degree."

"Yeah, but I'll actually just be glad to get this day over with." Pony's reply had me perplexed.

"Why?"

Pony hesitated for a moment. "Well, it's just been kind of weird being with Ryann and having to pretend we don't know each other until after I've officially graduated." He could see that I still didn't get the significance. "It's something her father suggested…uh...insisted actually. He felt it would be a conflict of interest for me to be dating the boss' daughter while I'm still a student."

It was becoming clear to me. "Ah, I see. Like a bargaining chip?"

"Yeah. He wasn't keen on Ry and me being together until he realized he really does want her to be happy." He sighed. "I still wonder about that though since he made Ry fill in for him this morning."

"Yeah, she mentioned that last night. She's not a happy camper."

"That's understatement. She was in a mood this morning."

"Is that what the door slam was about?"

"Sorry. Did we wake you?"

"No, I was already awake. Soda is still comatose." I told him with a grin.

"He always was a heavy sleeper."

I broke the few moments of awkward silence. "Ry said that she's taking a couple of summer courses to make up for when she changed her major."

"Yeah. She wants to be able to graduate with her class."

"So she'll be studying all summer?"

"Yeah." Pony tossed the last towel into the basket then sat across from me at the table. "I'm glad she's doing what she wants to do but I'm worried that she'll burn out and give up before the Fall semester."

"Does she get any time off at all?"

"Well, she starts in two weeks so, we're gonna try to get away for a long weekend somewhere before that."

"That'll be nice." I smiled. "It's easy to see how much you love Ryann. It was obvious when you guys came to our wedding last Fall."

Pony simply shrugged which gave me the impression that he had a plan in mind. "Will there be wedding bells in your future?"

"For me and Ry?" He asked. "Maybe. It would have to be in the distant future."

I grinned but decided not to pry. Instead I got up and rinsed my plate and put it in the dishwasher. "I better go wake Rip Van Curtis."

Pony laughed heartily. "I better get a move on too."


End file.
